1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a maintenance supervising system for an image-reproducing system, and in particular relates to a maintenance supervising system which monitors maintenance of, and schedules maintenance job contents for, the routinely serviced components in an image-reproducing system.
2. Description of Related Art
In general, the routine maintenance of image-reproducing devices such as photocopiers and the like is carried out in accordance with a service manual. The manual lists, in component-by-component sequence for each regularly maintained component, instructions describing maintenance work that should be carried out on the components each time a certain image-reproducing count is reached (for example every 100,000 photocopies). The count indicates the age of an original or replaced component. A serviceman visits the site of a photocopier installation at a period of time predetermined after the last scheduled maintenance according to when the age count is expected to have been exceeded. After referring to the service manual for instructions as to the maintenance work due, the serviceman carries out maintenance work accordingly.
Moreover, in a management system wherein a plurality of photocopiers are monitored at a service center and are connected via telephone lines to the service center's host computer, dates for the next routine maintenance due are transmitted to the host computer from the photocopiers each time an age count is reached. Once notification is received that routine maintenance is due on a particular photocopying machine, a serviceman will visit the site of the machine installation. There the serviceman carries out maintenance work having consulted the service manual for details of the routine maintenance job.
When maintenance work is accordingly carried out in conformity with a service manual, there is a risk that where components have been serviced or replaced previously due to some unforeseeable problem, during the next regularly scheduled service visit, maintenance work may be carried out unnecessarily on the previously replaced components.
More specifically, due to premature failure, a component may have to be replaced or repaired on an unscheduled occasion. Consequently, the next-scheduled service procedure in accordance with service manual recommendations for the particular component may be rendered unnecessary. Maintenance work, such as cleaning and adjustment, may nonetheless be carried out on the component repaired or replaced in the interim between scheduled maintenance occasions. The consequence is reduced efficiency of routine maintenance procedures, where on the contrary improved efficiency is actually the goal.